Chocolate Banana Cake with Glazed Walnuts

When my son decided to join track team in his school, I secretly rejoiced.  He's not one to like a team sports and asking him to go to the gym with me and my husband is like pulling teeth.  The only sport that he tolerates is swimming and he's pretty good at it, but because of church commitment, he seldom could participate in swim meet.  This track and field activity is through his school which means it won't interfere with church but his time after school is filled with practice.  That means I have to pick him up from school late and that makes my days long as well.  Sigh.  And the track meet is incredibly long...

Then why did I rejoice?  Because for one thing, this gets him into exercising.  He's now into running, albeit in beginner's level, and he wants to track all his running into his Runkeeper app.  With that newfound interest, I'm able to join him in the running process and I like it.  Now I have a partner to run on the weekends!

But, then there's a problem with those time on the weekends.  The time I usually am home, baking or cooking, is now divided.  I have less time to be in the kitchen and even lesser time to play around with food for my blog.  Consequently this blog will see fewer posts until track and field is done.  Oh well, such is life...  But, I have this cake recipe that I've been keeping on my computer for a while and I think it's time to write it down here before it gets way too old.  My family enjoyed this cake because there's banana and there's chocolate.  This cake didn't use eggs and has a potential to become a vegan cake if the milk used is substituted with vegan milk.  I didn't try it so I won't know how the flavor would turn out but this cake was plenty moist and scrumptious.  Do give it a try!

Chocolate Banana Cake with Glazed Walnuts

Yields one 8-inch cake


Banana Cake:
1/4 cup milk
6 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
6 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas--approximately 5 medium bananas
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped, toasted--optional

Chocolate Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/4 cup milk
6 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Maple Glazed Walnuts:
1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Dark Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup milk
1/2 pound high-quality extra dark chocolate--I used Lindt 70% bittersweet chocolate
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 pinch salt


Preheat oven to 350F.

To make banana cake:  Lightly oil and dust a 8" round springform cake pan with flour, shaking out excess.

Put the milk, oil, maple syrup, vanilla and bananas in a blender and blend until smooth.  In a large bowl combine dry ingredients.  Add banana mixture and combine using as few strokes as possible.  Fold in walnuts.

Pour batter into cake pan and smooth the top.  Make the chocolate cake.

To make chocolate cake:  Lightly oil and dust a 8" round spring form cake pan with flour, shaking out excess.  In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl combine the maple syrup, milk, melted coconut oil, vanilla and vinegar.  Whisk to combine.  Pour the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk to remove any lumps.

Pour batter into cake pan and smooth the top.  Place in the oven with the banana cake, on the same rack if possible so they bake evenly,  and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes.  Let cakes cool on the cooling rack for 10 minutes, then release the springform ring from the cakes.  Let cakes cool completely.

To make maple glazed walnuts:  In a dry skillet over medium heat, lightly toast walnuts until fragrant.  Add maple syrup to the pan and toss quickly to coat.  Remove from pan to let cool.

To make dark chocolate glaze:  Slice vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and place them in a small saucepan.  Add cold milk to the saucepan and warm slowly over medium heat.  When hot, remove from heat and add chocolate.  Stir until fully melted, whisk in a pinch of salt.  Keep warm.

To assemble cake:  Slice each cake in half horizontally.  Slice the very tops off the cakes to make them straight.

Start with one half of the chocolate cake on the bottom, spoon on about 1/4 of the glaze, with the majority being around the edge so that it oozes out when you place the next layer.  Place a banana cake layer on top of the chocolate layer and spoon on glaze, repeat until the top layer.  Pour the remaining glaze on top of the cake and top with maple glazed walnuts.  Serve.


Source:  adapted from My New Roots Apps by Sarah B.

Butternut Squash Bread with Dark Chocolate and Walnuts

Last year when my parents traveled to Indonesia, I had to take care of their house and yard.  I didn't have to do much with the yard though but I had to make sure the plants were watered well and picked a few handful of produce from their vegetable garden.  One day, as I was looking out the window from their living room, I noticed there's a vine that's growing over and around the short hedges lining up the front pathway.  It seemed like a squash plant tried to grow.  My parents and I love kabocha squash very much and there was a talk in the past of planting one or two plants in the vegetable garden.  We just love the sweet and smooth texture of this squash that when it's in season, my mom would buy one or two.  She then would slice it thin, dredged it in tempura batter, and deep-fried it.  That was our afternoon snack, and between us, we could probably eat the whole squash ourselves.  My mom wouldn't choose an overly big one, but she smartly picked the small one.

That plant was growing like weed and there's also one in the backyard, but when I asked my dad about it, he said he actually didn't plant any in the front yard so that was a surprise.  As summer progressed, I watched it bore fruits; the one in the front bore green fruit and the one in the back bore bluish-colored fruit.  From the look of it, one must be blue kuri squash and the other one was kabocha squash.  When my parents came back home, we waited until the stems became corky and the shape went blocky.  My dad loves it plain, steamed, and would eat it with a spoon.  I baked my share until soft and divided the flesh into several freezer bags.  These can be frozen for 3 months.

And here's one way to use up the squash, I made a quick bread with dark chocolate chips, walnuts, and dried cranberries.  I adapted the original recipe by using all-purpose flour instead of wheat flour because that's what I had at home at the time.  This won't last long in my house, everyone would eat slice upon slice with a drink of their choice!

Butternut Squash Bread with Dark Chocolate and Walnuts

Yield 1-9x5 inch loaf


2 eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
7.5 ounces peeled, seeded, steamed and pureed kabocha squash
2/3 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purposed flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 generous teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground dried ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts, plus extra for decorating top
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Heat oven to 350 F.  Coat a bread loaf pan with coconut oil or butter, or spray with vegetable oil.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, sugars, cooked/pureed kabocha squash flesh, and oil until smooth.  In a second bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.  Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well.  Fold in chocolate chips, walnuts, and cranberries.

Fill the prepared loaf pan about three-quarters full with batter.  Gently tap the bottom of the filled pan on the counter a few times to release air bubbles.  Sprinkle additional walnuts over loaf, using your hand to gently press them into the batter.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let cool for at least 1 hour before slicing into thick chunks.


Source:  adapted from Breadtopia

Spiced Eggnog Pound Cake with Toasted Walnuts

Friday is my favorite day of the week because it's the start of my resting period and also, when baking time begins.  Actually, baking time can be anytime between Friday and Sunday, I welcome it because it's such a stress reliever for me.  I do like to get my hands dirty with flour and butter and I let my mind wanders when I'm baking.  But, often times I don't get that time when my schedule is full.  That's when I start to long for it and am looking forward to saying no to anything that comes in my way so I can plan a leisurely baking day.

I finally had a chance to do some baking a couple of weeks ago.  I've been browsing recipes to see what kind of dessert I would bake, and this pound cake recipe caught my eyes.  I've always loved buttery and tender texture of pound cake even if it's as simple as this one.  With holiday season approaching, the eggnog flavor with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg is a welcoming scent to the house.  The thought of a warm and comforting slice of cake to be enjoyed on a blustery day was my idea of staying home for the whole weekend. 

Spiced Eggnog Pound Cake with Toasted Walnuts

Yields: 16 servings

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups sifted cake flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup refrigerated eggnog

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons brandy (optional)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon whipping cream

Generously grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan; set aside.  Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy.  Gradually add granulated sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to butter mixture alternately with 1 cup eggnog, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.  Stir in vanilla and, if desired, brandy.  Stir toasted walnuts evenly in the batter.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan.  Stir cinnamon and next 3 ingredients into remaining batter.  Spoon spice batter over plain batter.  Swirl batters together, using a knife.

Bake at 350F for 50 to 55 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes.  Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.

Place cake on a cake plate.  Combine powdered sugar and whipping cream, stirring until smooth.  Drizzle glaze over cake.

Source:  Christmas with Southern Living, June 2005